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Geno being sued

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Although some women make false reports, there are far more victims of sexual assault in the world who do not report crimes because they don't think anyone will believe them. Many who do report never get a chance at justice because the police do not take them seriously.
If this women is making a false report to gain some advantage, she's as guilty as anyone of encouraging this harmful way of thinking. Please don't stoop to that level.
 
ursusminor said:
Although some women make false reports, there are far more victims of sexual assault in the world who do not report crimes because they don't think anyone will believe them. Many who do report never get a chance at justice because the police do not take them seriously. If this women is making a false report to gain some advantage, she's as guilty as anyone of encouraging this harmful way of thinking. Please don't stoop to that level.
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+1
 
Key point to remember: the last complaintant got $11.5 million from Tolbert and Isaih Thomas.

The filings seem to be more pissed (in general) at the NBA than Geno.
I remain skeptical.
 
ursusminor said:
Although some women make false reports, there are far more victims of sexual assault in the world who do not report crimes because they don't think anyone will believe them. Many who do report never get a chance at justice because the police do not take them seriously. If this women is making a false report to gain some advantage, she's as guilty as anyone of encouraging this harmful way of thinking. Please don't stoop to that level.
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This is very true, ursus. Although given the recent pattern at the NBA involving suits one might expect that to have been less likely in those offices. One element in all of these accusations also seems to involve running into the glass ceiling.
 
Olde Coach said:
If Kelly Hardwick had a legitimate complaint, she would have filed it a long time ago.

Geno did her no harm in Russia. If Geno has reservations about her appointment to lead the security team for Women's basketball in London, he probably has good reasons --- and a responsibility to inform USB of his reservations.

Sexual harassment charges are a powerful tool that many women use to "punish" powerful men who have slighted them. My guess is that Kelly Hardwick has a chip on her shoulder and she is attacking Geno with the most effective weapon she has in her arsenal.

You can bet your last dollar that Geno will have a team of VERY GOOD LAWYERS all over this case. And he won't lose much sleep over it. He has many bigger issues
on his plate right now.
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that's quite a bold generalization. If anything, I would bet there are more cases that are not filed due to the victim being scared of retaliation or losing her job.

EEOC stats:

http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/sexual_harassment.cfm
 
Olde Coach said:
Sexual harassment charges are a powerful tool that many women use to "punish" powerful men who have slighted them. My guess is that Kelly Hardwick has a chip on her shoulder and she is attacking Geno with the most effective weapon she has in her arsenal.
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That storyline is as old as Potiphar's wife and Joseph in Genesis 39.

There is some psychology to be considered here. The accuser claims to have reported it immediately to another supervising staff member. In cases where charges are not brought it is relatively rare that an event is reported to anyone. Women who do not bring charges rarely speak to anyone, especially, without processing the events for some time for exactly the types of reasons ursus notes.
 
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vowelguy said:
Many?
And you base this on ... ?
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I base this on personal experience. I was a coach at Rollins College from 1985-1990. I witnessed MANY instances of sexual harassment charges being filed against professors or coaches by girls who had a bone to pick with some adult who gave them a bad grade, report, evaluation etc. Other students whom I knew well often knew what was going on and said the charges were "made up and had no basis in reality."

At Rollins, as at most colleges, the rules were written so the student does not have to identify herself or be identified by the college in these S.H. cases. The accused staff usually had no idea who their protagonists were. Further, the rules prohibit the accused from making any effort to learn who his accuser is. If the accused makes an effort to find out, that is considered by the college rules as a "further act of harassment." Bottom line: the cards are stacked against the college teacher or coach. And the girls know this. They have the power and they use it.
 
HuskyNan said:
Didn't a judge sue a Mom & Pop dry cleaner for $15 million for losing his pants? Just because someone has held a position of authority doesn't make their comments unimpeachable.
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Actually, $60+ million.

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/LegalCenter/story?id=3119381&page=1

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/06/13/judge-who-sued-dry-cleaners-for-millions-cries-in-court/

http://articles.cnn.com/2008-05-02/...-damages-dry-cleaning-business-judge?_s=PM:US

Per Wikipedia: It has been held up as an example of frivolous litigation and the need for tort reform in the United States.

I don't think I'd want him presiding in my case.
 
UConnChapette said:
Just going to have to let this thing play out. Way too soon in the game to pass any kind of judgement against Geno or Ms. Hardwick.

What we do know is that this is going to be THE topic of conversation among many fan bases as further justification for their intense hatred of Geno. It will be a distraction as Geno coaches the US team, and on the recruiting trail as some opposing coaches will no doubt use this in negative recruiting. And it will be a distraction for UConn as long as this thing plays out.

Whether there is any validity to the accusations or not, it has the potential to be very damaging for all concerned. This just sucks.
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This.
 
 
cardfan said:
that's quite a bold generalization. If anything, I would bet there are more cases that are not filed due to the victim being scared of retaliation or losing her job.
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While that might be true, that does not not make OC's bold generalization, not true. (They really are not related.)
 
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Icebear said:
Come on, don't exaggerate it was only 54 million.
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But the initial demand was really $67 million. The plaintiff later reduced his demand to a modest $54M. So, obviously, common sense prevailed. :(
 
meyers7 said:
While that might be true, that does not not make OC's bold generalization, not true. (They really are not related.)
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OC's generalization is not true. It's completely untrue. A really really low percentage of sexual assault cases are false, like less than 3 percent.

That said, it's a completely different story when it comes to wealthy and powerful men. It could very well be as simple as Geno made a request that she is taken off the security and she sues because she can makeup an unprovable story and take his money..
 
Olde Coach said:
I base this on personal experience. I was a coach at Rollins College from 1985-1990. I witnessed MANY instances of sexual harassment charges being filed against professors or coaches by girls who had a bone to pick with some adult who gave them a bad grade, report, evaluation etc. Other students whom I knew well often knew what was going on and said the charges were "made up and had no basis in reality."

At Rollins, as at most colleges, the rules were written so the student does not have to identify herself or be identified by the college in these S.H. cases. The accused staff usually had no idea who their protagonists were. Further, the rules prohibit the accused from making any effort to learn who his accuser is. If the accused makes an effort to find out, that is considered by the college rules as a "further act of harassment." Bottom line: the cards are stacked against the college teacher or coach. And the girls know this. They have the power and they use it.
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Not far off the mark IMO. I was falsely accused of sexual harrassment in the military. The 1st charge was quickly squashed, the accuser was a young woman that I had disciplined. Fortunately she was overheard bragging about how she was getting even with that SOB - the SOB being me.

The 2nd was much more difficult, after all it was the second accusation. The only thing that saved me was that another crewmember had served with her at a previous command where she had pulled the same stunt.

Rightly or wrongly, my first response to these sort of accusations is "what did he do to piss her off".
 
Olde Coach said:
I base this on personal experience. I was a coach at Rollins College from 1985-1990. I witnessed MANY instances of sexual harassment charges being filed against professors or coaches by girls who had a bone to pick with some adult who gave them a bad grade, report, evaluation etc. Other students whom I knew well often knew what was going on and said the charges were "made up and had no basis in reality."
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You've got a very very small sample size in a unique community with its own rules (eg, a college).

Making inferences based on such limited data to the broader population seems more than a stretch.
 
False accusations can be so damaging. In retrospect Diana was so lucky that she was able to disprove the results of the positive drug screen in Turkey. Even if Geno is innocent he might never find a way to prove it.
 
blackbird said:
OC's generalization is not true. It's completely untrue. A really really low percentage of sexual assault cases are false, like less than 3 percent.

That said, it's a completely different story when it comes to wealthy and powerful men. It could very well be as simple as Geno made a request that she is taken off the security and she sues because she can makeup an unprovable story and take his money..
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With her work records, in supervising security for international events, as reflected in the brief filed in NY, why would coach A have any concerns about her?

He would only know her on a professional level, right?

Definately a bummer, true or not true, in terms of the potential impact this could/might/will have on future recruitment.

I sincerely hope that members of the team will be able to avoid getting cought up in this as it unfolds.

Peace,

John Fryer
 
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Innocent until PROVEN guilty.

I have never heard of Geno doing anything in the past that would even hint that these charges against him are true.

How distressing that some UConn fans are giving even a small amount of credence to these allegations only 4 hours after the story was reported. I shudder to think of what the many who dislike Geno are discussing on-line.
 
blackbird said:
OC's generalization is not true. It's completely untrue. A really really low percentage of sexual assault cases are false, like less than 3 percent.

That said, it's a completely different story when it comes to wealthy and powerful men. It could very well be as simple as Geno made a request that she is taken off the security and she sues because she can makeup an unprovable story and take his money..
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This is why it's important to focus on individual cases and look into actual facts. Sweeping generalizations help very few people, and in the long run often do the most harm to victims who've already been seriously hurt. There are statistics everywhere, statistical anomalies everywhere.
At the end of the day, this woman is either lying or not, and statistics have nothing to do with it. Facts do.
 
Olde Coach said:
I base this on personal experience. I was a coach at Rollins College from 1985-1990. I witnessed MANY instances of sexual harassment charges being filed against professors or coaches by girls who had a bone to pick with some adult who gave them a bad grade, report, evaluation etc. Other students whom I knew well often knew what was going on and said the charges were "made up and had no basis in reality."

At Rollins, as at most colleges, the rules were written so the student does not have to identify herself or be identified by the college in these S.H. cases. The accused staff usually had no idea who their protagonists were. Further, the rules prohibit the accused from making any effort to learn who his accuser is. If the accused makes an effort to find out, that is considered by the college rules as a "further act of harassment." Bottom line: the cards are stacked against the college teacher or coach. And the girls know this. They have the power and they use it.
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wow. that's all I will say, except that sexual harassment in a school (student vs. teacher) is very different from sexual harassment in the work place.
 
ursusminor said:
This is why it's important to focus on individual cases and look into actual facts. Sweeping generalizations help very few people, and in the long run often do the most harm to victims who've already been seriously hurt. There are statistics everywhere, statistical anomalies everywhere.
At the end of the day, this woman is either lying or not, and statistics have nothing to do with it. Facts do.
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Bingo.
 
Wow. When I read the title of the thread my first reaction was some patron at one of Geno's restaurants had gotten sick. This is depressing. Whatever happens, I don't see how this can end well for Uconn Wbb. Personally, I don't believe it but what happens if others jump on the bandwagon and come forward with some story?
 
As someone else said, it needs to play out. All we have is her complaint. The answer, public statements, etc. are all yet to come.

Nonetheless, a couple of initial reactions.

1. This isn't a criminal complaint of sexual assault a la Dominique Strauss-Kahn. This is a civil action seeking money. Anybody can file one without convincing any authorities of anything, such as "probable cause."

2. The complaint seems a very long row to hoe. To win a judgment in court against Geno, who isn't her employer, plaintiff would need to prove to a jury's satisfaction a whole string of allegations -- starting with proving the incident happened at all, her proof being only that she told some people it did. Then she'd need to prove further events, improper motives, consequent actions, existence and exertion of influence, reaction to the influence, and lack of credible alternative reasons for her failure to land the assignment in question -- all this before proving damages.

I can't judge the potential of the glass ceiling employment discrimination stuff plaintiff is alleging against the NBA, which may or may not settle. (If there's anything there, it's the likely result.) But without prejudging the truth of anything she says, the idea she'll ever get a dime out of Geno for some sort of alleged malicious damage to her career strikes me as a real stretch.
 
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Since there apparently were no witnesses the plaintiff will have a hard time making a case unless she can show a pattern of this kind of behavior from GA. And since he didn't directly fire her she will be up against it since the NBA (or whomever the employer is) will be defending their act as unrelated to the alleged incident. As a former union steward I know that it's tough to make a case since the court gives wide latitude to employers.

Could be a lawyer needs some publicity. But what's for sure is that some will assume he is guilty and others that he is innocent.
 
ericsandiego said:
Actually, that's not exactly correct.

She provided a list of witnesses, who she said knew about the encounter, to the N.B.A. this year, in an attempt to retain her Olympic assignment, she said. But the league’s general counsel did not talk to these people, or to Mr. Auriemma, according to the lawsuit.

“I was willing to close this story in 2009,” Ms. Hardwick said in an interview last week. “If Geno had not interfered with my job and my livelihood, I would not have filed this lawsuit.”

In the suit, Ms. Hardwick, 46, a lawyer and a former New York City undercover narcotics detective, accused Mr. Auriemma, the N.B.A. and USA Basketball, which oversees the women's Olympics team, of employment discrimination.

It's possible she lost her job for some other reason, and was trying to find a scapegoat to blame and now accused him of sexual assault, but as a lawyer and former NYC undercover narcotics detective, I find it difficult to imagine that she'd be making it all up.

On the flip side, I have a hard time imagining Geno actually doing what she accused him of. Not to be overly dramatic, but if true, this would potentially be the worst thing to ever happen to WCBB at UCONN...
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If true this might be worst thing to happen to UCONN period. Sexual assaults are ugly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Sexual asault and sexual harrasment/discrimination are two very different 'crimes'. Assault involves a physical action, harrasment involves the interpretation of the actions of another by the victim. For example if a supervisor ask male employee out for a drink after work and does not ask his female coworker that could be interpreted as discrimination, but if he does ask the female coworker along, that could be interpreted as harrasment (an unwanted advance.) Damned if you do and damned if you don't. And the law is written so vaguely that when I went to a management conference on the new law, the lawyer running the meeting referred to it as the Lawyer's 100% Employment Act.
I agree with both sets of posters - there are a larger number of harrasment/discrimination cases that are legitimate and are never brought or are never proved. But ... the legal system in this country makes it incredibly easy and cost effective to bring false claims of all varieties of harrasment and discrimination. Any employee can walk into supervisors office and basically say 'pay me $10,000 today, or tomorrow I will cost you at least $20,000 in legal fees defending your company from the complaint I am about to file with the department of labor for _____ (age, sex, race, religion) discrimination/harrasment. And by the way, I don't even need to find a lawyer myself - the government will do all the preliminary work.' At least in other countries if you bring a frivilous lawsuit you can be made liable for court costs and in some instances the defendants legal costs.
 
HuskyNan said:
Just because someone has held a position of authority doesn't make their comments unimpeachable.
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Precisely Nan. In all due respect to honest lawyers (Spartacus :)) and detectives everywhere, who better to game the system than an expert of the system?

There's so many red flags here that immediately scream PAYDAY! Apply Occam's Razor and follow the money:

  • Do you believe in coincidences? Geno is at the height of his celebrity with the success of UConn and the upcoming Olympics. If one wanted to max-out on media exposure and the perceived pressure it would bring to bear toward a quick financial settlement from the NBA, USA BBall or Geno, Inc. - just to be rid of it - this would be the optimal moment to strike. Coincidence? The accusation is years old, but the suit comes less than two months before the start of the Olympics? Right. I wouldn't be surprised if NBC (whose one of the few entities not named as a defendant), but who is spending million$ on the Olympic TV rights, pays the gold digger's cab fare to be rid of the distraction.
  • She's suing for discrimination, not sexual harassment or sexual assault which is the alleged offense and foundation of the original claim. Why? Because the threshold of proof is much lower for the discrimination complaint. That signals it's all about the money and taking the path of least resistance to a settlement.
  • She's suing everyone and everything. This is like the scorched earth approach for lawsuits brought against toxic super-fund sites. List everyone you can think of (and a few you can't) with deep pockets. One or more of those entities will settle to get rid of the lawsuit for an amount less than the cost of continuing litigation and ending the negative press.
  • Again, the suit is for job discrimination, not the original allegations of an unwanted grab or kiss. And the supposed corroborating individuals are supposedly familiar with the initial claim. Won't even get into the validity of the hearsay implied, but where is the proof of linkage between that claim and the subsequent job discrimination claim? This would be laughed out of court, so this is all about a settlement.
 
One thing I found really odd: Ms. Hardwick referring to the defendant as "Geno." It's one thing for us to feel familiar enough to consider Coach as Geno, another for the person suing him.

I heard about this on the radio on my way home from work, and my first reaction was "No way!" But as mentioned in many posts here, it is sure to have an undesirable affect on our coach and our team. Once the dust is set free in the wind, you can't get it back. This is a sad story, but I am confident that Geno will be COMPLETELY exonerated.
 
justML said:
Innocent until PROVEN guilty.

I have never heard of Geno doing anything in the past that would even hint that these charges against him are true.

How distressing that some UConn fans are giving even a small amount of credence to these allegations only 4 hours after the story was reported. I shudder to think of what the many who dislike Geno are discussing on-line.
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__________________________________________________________________________________

Actually, what you were trying to say is "presumed innocent until proven guilty," and that has absolutely no application here, as this is a civil suit. "Presumed innocent" is much different than "innocent." Replace the "beyond a reasonable doubt" criminal standard of proof with something much less, like the "preponderance of the evidence" standard or the "clear and convincing" standard. With that said, Geno will probably settle so as not to risk his reputation further.
 
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